Double Exposure
by ObscureIdeas
Summary: Upon investigation Frank and JD discover a mysterious double exposed photograph may have been the sole motive behind a murder, what could make a photo worth a man's life, witnesses spot a man with gray hair leaving the scene using sign language... is Phoe
1. Default Chapter

_Disclaimer: John Doe and all characters, ideas, and concepts associated with the show are owned by Fox Networks. Note this fan fiction would make a lot more sense if you actually have watched the series._

_For additional clarity it is set to take place some time after Shock to the System_

Double Exposure

            It was dark out, stars in the sky accented by a crescent moon that poorly lit the area with moon light. A man with a hat and coat stood outside in the cold air breathing heavily watching something in the distance. The water splashing against shore could be heard adding a soothing affect to standing there. The man took two steps and the wooden dock he was on creaked below his feet. He had reached into his pocket and pulled something out. It was a small disposable camera; he placed the camera to his eye and looked. He made a disappointed face and sighed. Then he reached into his back and pulled something else out. It was a small lens that he attached to the front of the camera and with a click it fit on perfectly. He now pulled this up to his eye and grinned just slightly.

            Everything through the lens itself was bright green but the mode on the camera would eliminate that and create a shade of grey. The man now walked about twenty feet then stopped once on dry land and near at what looked like a storage building. He looked through the lens again and quickly ducked behind the corner of a building.

            He popped out for a second and snapped one picture then placed something next to the camera and took another picture not looking in the direction of the first. He then pulled back into the dark shadow cast by the building. He followed this same procedure several times taking a picture adjusting the camera and taking another not of the person then he hid again.

            "Hey!" A voice said semi loudly and the man turned around to take a look at who was shouting.

            "What? You followed me?" The man said with a hint of anger in his voice now that his cover was blown and he would have to find a new spot.

            Behind him was someone he knew, his friend who had already said not to take pictures because it was a bad idea.

            "I told you we aren't gonna do this gig!" The other man said.

            "I can take it if I want to the reward is worth it." He said trying to convince the other man to take his side.

            "No I tried to look up this guy all I got was dead ends, that tells me something that it's a scam of some sort." He said angry that he was being double crossed by him.

            "So what if you found nothing, so he is careful." He quipped back at the other man.

            "Careful is one thing, but to get a threat after doing one search is another." He said.

            "Get lost." The man said as he turned to prep to take another picture.

            At that moment the one man came running towards the taller man and grabbed him throwing him back down to the ground into the darkness of the shadows.

            The first man briefly crawled out of the shadows pulling himself forward with his hands and it was possible to get a clear look at his face in the light that illuminated the dock. There was a pool of blood and as he inched out further looking at the person he knew wondering why. He turned over slightly revealing a knife that was deep into his gut.

            The second man reached down and pulled the knife and hesitated for a second considering tossing it into the water that wasn't too far away. Then he slid the blade into his pocket looked at the man.

            "I won't let you put my family or your family at risk over some stupid photos, in the end that's what this would have come to dealing with these people." The second man said firmly. He looked to see the camera lying beside the man he stepped on it lightly and it crunched. He picked up the damaged camera and walked closer to the edge and tossed it. In mid air it seemed to fall apart and pieces landed across the water.

            At the last moment the other man looked back at the building he was taking pictures of then turned to walk off.

            In the distance a door hinge creaked and opened to reveal John Doe exiting a building and walking down a few stairs to the sidewalk he turned and walked away.


	2. Chapter 2

            A few days later it was a busy night at _The Sea _Digger serving a customer and he stopped by the piano where John Doe was playing a few notes. Not real music just a few keys then stopping to watch all of the people having a good time around him. Then he would look on the keys rather depressed.

            "Look, don't go wishing you didn't have all your thoughts again," Digger said approaching John from behind. John looked up and watched Digger walk past him and something in the distance caught his eye. 

            It was a camera flash Doe watched in the direction seeing another photo taken. Quietly to himself Doe said, "I don't have any photos of myself." He thought about it for a few seconds quietly then sat back down and continued to stare in that direction.

            Digger walked back over to John and noted, "Take a picture it lasts longer." With that Digger continued on to serve someone else.

            John smiled as that gave him an idea, one he should have thought of sooner but hadn't.

            The rest of the night melted away as various people came and went giving moments to a few thought provoking conversations about whatever crossed people's minds; until suddenly before anyone could notice it was closing time. One last small group of people made their way to the door and left.

            John turned to Digger and nodded.

            "Thanks for the idea." John said mysteriously.

            "What idea?" Digger said not sure what John meant.

            It was now about four in the afternoon and John walked into the police station toting something in a small bag. He walked past the other officers working and walked over to Frank Hayes, who was working on finishing up a case.

            "Need any help?" John asked.

            "Nope, got this case all wrapped up." Frank said confidently.

            "That's good," John nodded and pulled out what was in his little bag. It was a camera.

            Without warning John simply said, "Smile." Frank looked confused and John snapped his photo.

            "Wha?" The sound came from Frank's mouth with a hint of confusion.

            John smiled as Jamie Avery came out of her office seeing the flash wondering what it was. Doe pulled the same stunt. Avery was a little confused not having seen John with a camera.

            "Did you know the first hand held camera was invented in 1888 by George Eastman?

            "No," Frank said not really figuring he'd know any random facts.

            "And the first roll film camera was invented in 1900 by Eastman as well." John added.

            "I figure I should capture some of my life on film so I'll have something to remember everyone by," John explained.

            Normally Avery may have argued about it wasn't the time to take photographs, but this time she decided to let it slide.

            "So what happened with the case?" John asked curiously.

            "Well found a body near the dock searched the water but only found some sort of plastic, no weapons, but the plastic had some blood and finger prints on it." Hayes explained briefly.

            "We eventually traced the prints to a family, friends of the deceased." It seemed.

            "It turned out that the family linked was the family of the partner in their business." Frank said.

            "What sort of business?" John asked.

            "Private Investigator." Frank responded.

            "It took a while to piece it together but eventually leads lead us to the partner, and evidence pointed in his direction." So we got him.

            "Glad to hear." Doe said smiling as he pulled out the camera and took another snapshot.

            Later that day John sat in a makeshift dark room holding some prints under the solution. In his mind thoughts of the make up of the chemical buzzed and when the process was first invented. But he tried not to focus on these facts since they weren't important at the moment.

            John pulled up one print and it slowly faded into focus where you could make out who was in the photo. John smiled for a second then moved on to the second photo and began to pull it out.

            The thought crossed his mind that Karen would enjoy seeing him do something creative like photography for a change. Rather than sticking with pure facts and knowledge. That made him happy but then to think of that she was gone took some of the happiness out of the moment. John let out a sigh and fixed the last image in the batch he had taken. Then he decided he needed to take a walk and just clear his head. If that is possible he thought.

            After the day John was walking along the harbor trying not to let obscure thoughts fill his mind. He walked for about ten minutes before he stopped and just looked around absorbing the surroundings.

            Doe moved about twenty more feet before he realized he was within feet of the crime scene Frank had been talking about earlier. He looked around and noted a few things. All the facts moved in his head from the way the blood stained to the location where the one man went down. John took a second to wonder how fast he could have solved it. Then he just took a deep breathe then moved forward walking to the waters edge and looked over seeing nothing but the water rippling in the soft breeze.

            John walked past there and took about twenty steps before noticing something in the water. It was a piece of card board with what looked like Arabic text on it from the distance he was away. He thought about what it could be a few seconds then turned to head back home.

            John made it back home as the sun was low in the sky but not quite setting yet. The sky was just starting to lose its blue shades and turn to sunset colors. John walked in and sat down at a table with three newspapers and laid out one page of them and turned it over to reveal three unfinished crosswords.

            Each crossword had the first fifteen clues filled into the grid and the first fifteen numbers crossed off of the overall clue list. Doe sat and started to fill in the sixteenth clue on one of them as he turned his attention to something else.

            He was a little bored, the police hadn't asked for his assistance in over a week and he felt he needed the thrill of catching a criminal. Although after a thought he realized he was glad that no cases required his unique ability to be of assistance.

            But he needed something to do to take his mind off of the facts in his head. At that moment he turned his attention to the television screen. The volume was just a bit too loud and John grabbed the remote and it slipped out of his hand. With a bang the control hit the ground and the channel flipped to some new mystery show.

            The lead character walked on screen with a smug look on his face and announced, "The second I saw the scene of the crime I knew who had done it." He said full of confidence.

            "I only had to disprove the murders alibi to force him to finally confess to the clever way he had pulled off this crime" The character added after turning towards the criminal as if to show off.

            An idea flashed in John's mind as he stood up suddenly and moved towards the door. Two of his crosswords fell to the ground in his speed to make it out. He reached and grabbed his jacket as he slid out the door.

            The sun was finally setting on a long and busy day and the bright orange glow was cast all along a street just a few turns away from a busy city street. It was an area of town that never got too busy a few shops scattered between the townhouses and apartments. Many people had already arrived home for the night.

            A loud screech as a slightly tarnished navy blue Dodge Neon pulled into a space moving at least three times the speed limit. The driver looks around frantic before pulling the keys and fidgeting with something on the dash. Then hopping out and running into a building. He glides through the door as it slowly closes after an old lady just left. Down the halls he ran and up one flight of stairs, he fumbled with the keys for a second then picked the right one and slid it into the lock tumblers clicking as the door swung open. He quickly secured the door and ran to the phone picking up the receiver. He dials first hitting a wrong key and then taps the button the receiver rested on to get a dial tone again. Then quickly dialed again this time correctly, the phone is ringing.

            A woman answers, "Seattle Police Department, Officer Jenkins speaking, how can I help you?" She asks kindly. In the split second he looks out the window as if expecting to see someone had followed him.

            "It's my brother," He stated quickly emphasizing the word brother.

            "Well, sir I'm af--," He pulled the phone away from his ear expecting her to continue for a while.

            He looked around as if there might be a man in the shadows watching him. Taking advantage of the lull he pulled an envelope out of his coat pocket and looked at it. Just as he was flipping it to look at the back there was a loud thud his head turned to it instantly. In doing so he missed a single paper that slid out of the envelope and found a new place to rest under the desk.

            "Sir? Are you still there? What about your brother?" The officer asked after he was quiet and she had finished talking.

            He replaced his ear to the receiver just as she was asking the last question. "He is missing."

            "I'm going to have to redirect you mis--," She starts to say but he quickly cuts her off "No I mean I think I found him."

            The officer sounding a little confused. "So he isn't missing anymore?"

            "No, Yes er I--," He pulls the phone away to take a quick breathe. "I'm not sure, he was reported missing in 1998." He said finally finishing the sentence. Immediately adding, "You have to help me, over." Almost inaudibly he mumbles two letters and then he took a second glance at the envelope.

            There was a long pause on both ends, the man was thinking about this envelope, and the officer wasn't quite sure to whom the call should be forwarded. The woman finally decided that it best he should discuss it further with those that first dealt with the missing person. On the other end the man sat quietly.

            The silence was interrupted by three silenced gunshots that had gone through the door, and hit him three spots on his back. He had no choice but to fall with a slight thud to the ground as his energy slowly faded away. The phone receiver clashed to the floor with a clunk. At the moment his eyes closed for their last time the door swung open by the force of a boot on the person on the other end.

            After hearing the noises the officer on the other end kept asking "Sir? Are you alright?" With no response after the third time asking she immediately requested that help be sent to the address it said the call was coming from on the display screen.

            There were three men, one leader with a dark coat and wearing gloves whilst the other two where acting as his henchmen. One of the henchmen placed a gun into his pocket as he walked in and stood waiting orders.  The lead man reached into the dead man's hand sliding the envelope out of his grasp. He places the envelope into an inner jacket pocket. He walked around for a minute examining the layout of his apartment. 

            With the wave of one hand in a nonchalant sweep, both men look under the cushions of a sofa then throw them on the floor then one of them turns the entire couch upside down, while the other examines a small desk filing cabinet and removes the contents onto the floor. Suddenly just as he gave the signal to start he holds his hand out with one finger up so they stop for a moment. The leader stares out of a window for a few seconds. Mesmerized by something that just happened outside. Then he quickly walks out of the room and with another signal they all quickly follow behind him to exit out the back in the same quiet fashion that they had entered. Police sirens wail in the far distance.

            Outside the building a dark colored AC Cobra with two white racing stripes pulled up to the building. Slowing to a stop as the lone passenger John Doe stepped out.


	3. Chapter 3

John had already walked into the building cautiously absorbing every detail about the scene before the first squad car arrived. They immediately removed Doe and were questioning him as Frank Hayes came up and looked at Doe curiously.

            The one interrogating officer quickly said, "We found him on the scene, we weren't sure if he was responsible or not."

            "It's ok," Frank said guiding Doe away from the other officers taking him towards his car. "What are you doing down here?"

            "Well, I was working on the crossword puzzles from today's papers and decided to go for a drive."

            "Oh and you just happened to end up at a crime scene before the police?" Frank said slightly aggravated.

            "Actually I--," Doe started to speak. But Frank looked towards Does car noticing a police scanner after hearing a sound of static from that direction.         "You got a police scanner? Those things don't usually pick up much." Frank said cutting him off.

            "Yeah, I modified mine," Doe said waiting a few seconds before adding "a little."

"Look Doe if we need your help we'll give you a call but we can handle the normal investigations." Frank said in lecturing tone.

            "Well often times it's the officers that first arrive on the scene that accidentally disturb evidence in a crime scene." Doe added to defend his actions.

            "Or civilians, and thanks for your confidence in us," Frank said quickly after Doe had spoken.

            "Sorry, I didn't mean it that way. I just wanted to see every detail uninterrupted, before it was analyzed, maybe even solve the crime."

            "Well who did it?" Frank said slightly curious if Doe had done just that.

            "I don't know yet." John answered.

            An officer came out of the building and called for the detective who came over and Doe followed behind him. She held in her hands one photograph contained in a bag so it could be further analyzed before it was touched, the one that had lost its place from the envelope that the man was holding.

            They both let a collective 'hmmmm' looking at the photograph for a few seconds unsure what to make of it at first.

            "It's a double exposed photograph," Doe said "both images appear disoriented." Then he thought a second. "Usually the first print is clear and the second image superimposed looks kind of like a ghost over it."

            "Interesting," Hayes said responding to Doe.

            "A double exposed photograph is caused by a photographer takes one picture then another photo without forwarding the film. Usually a mistake but some use this technique to enhance a photo. Although since both images are out of focus this is probably the result of a camera not operating properly." Doe added.

            They all moved inwards toward the room where he was found. The man lay on the floor motionless and people examined him to see if any additional clues could be found. Hayes looked at the toppled sofa and mess on the floor for a second then moved on to the body.

            The officer that had carried out the photo pointed to the desk next to the body.

"We found it under that desk," she said.

            One of the men examining stood up reading from a paper then opening his wallet to read his drivers license, "Time of death approx 6 pm. the cause of death three gunshot wounds to the back, probably all from a .38 judging by the one shell casing found in the hall from a .38. His wallet identifies him as a Simon Fulton, this isn't his house his real house is about ten blocks away. 

            Hayes was focusing his attention on the lock that had been shattered as the person was talking.

            "No that was caused by someone else, Fulton had a key, the killer probably did that with a good kick to the lock and he was in" The man added.

            "Look at his hand," Doe spoke up after being quiet. "The way he his hand is when he died he was holding something, paper or photographs." Then he looked to the sofa pointing at it and the cushions. "The people that shot him had been watching him or knew where he'd be, not one shot missed him. But he was aware of this and tried to be cautious. After he was shot they then kicked their way in and were looking for something and they found it in his hands, only it wasn't all there the photo fell under the desk." Doe walks over to the sofa and continues. "Not knowing this they start to tear up the place thinking it may have been dropped or put away. Only when I arrived they must have stopped and made a quick exit."

            "You said the people? More than one person did this?" One of the officers asks John.

            "Yeah, notice the way things were disorganized the contents of this cabinet are on the top and underneath of this sofa, with his hand he tries to free some of the papers which are firmly stuck in place. That means that both things had to be done simultaneously." Doe said to back up his earlier statement.

            "You think he knew they were after him?" Hayes asked.

            "Well this guy comes into a home that isn't his and the first thing he does is double lock the door. So that means he wasn't just checking something and planning to leave. Then he didn't even take the time to kick off his shoes or take off his jacket. He just rushed over to the phone to call the police." Doe said sure of himself.

            "How do you know he just got home he may have been getting ready to go somewhere." Hayes said unsure of Doe's theory.

            "Well his car." Doe pointed down to the keys which showed a Dodge logo on the key chain and then out to the car in the front parking lot. "It's still warm. So that means something happened like he took a few photos and people to chased him he realizes this so he pulls in here to call the police. Then bang."

            "That's good but at this point motive to kill over some pictures is still speculation," Hayes added.

            "Wait I know this guy," an officer cut in. "I saw him on the FBI most wanted list. Terry Gulfore, he was responsible for murders in a few different states."

            "You see Doe, this is why you should let us get here first you could have been injured." Frank said.

            "The most wanted list itself was started in 1949 by a reporter who asked who asked the FBI for a list of 'toughest guys' the FBI would like to capture" Doe stated then he added "To date only one man was killed for revenge of turning in someone on the list, also the criminal that has been on the list the longest is Donald Webb, to this date he hasn't been caught."

            Frank pulled out a paper that had a transcription of his last conversation. He read it to himself a bit before speaking.

            "It says here that his last call was to the police station he mentioned a brother, which he thinks he had found who was first listed missing in 1998." Frank said.

            "So on speculation if John's theory is right that means this guy was killed over a lousy photograph? Or other photos that were with it?" Frank said as he glanced over in the area of the body and the desk under which the photo was found.

            "I think we need to figure out what that is a picture of" Hayes said wondering himself what it was.

            John had made his way back to his home where he fixed a late night snack and cleaned up any mess he had made. Thoughts stirred in his head about the case he had just gotten involved in. In his mind he replayed his first view of the scene itself and every detail he had noticed. Nothing additional had stood out no any other clues were there yet. And if there were other clues they depended on information that would be gained by analyzing the clues they had. All the thoughts circled again and again until John finally managed to find his way into sleep.

            It was early the next morning about 7:15 am when a phone ringing woke John up he wondered who it was calling. He sat up and made his way to the phone and picked it up.

            "Good morning," Stella said as Doe walked in to the lab. Hayes was already there as was Avery.

            "Sorry to wake you up but this was important" Lieutenant Avery said speaking to Doe.

            The rest of the people in the room already had seen this and so far it was only Doe that didn't know yet what the image contained. They're eyes flipped back and forth between Doe and the computer screen.

            "Well you know that we found the photograph," Stella said clicking on the keyboard an image of it appeared on screen. "Ok after scanning the image in I managed to clean it up and separate the images." Stella said.

            "However, both were still highly distorted, but from this I was able to determine the source of one image by scanning a database." Stella said as she pulled an issue of Time magazine from 1984 and put in on the table.

            "Using the one image I was able to almost totally remove this distortion," She said as she typed on the keyboard.

            From the one image now appeared another single image appeared on the screen it was blurred and unrecognizable at first.

            "Now when I enhance it," She explained as she was redoing the process.

            The one image that is still on screen gradually goes from blurry to clear, within a few seconds. The clear image now raises more questions than it answers.

            "What?" Doe says slightly shocked about what he sees.

            On the computer screen the image is now crisp and clear as if it had never been a double exposure. Everyone in the room could recognize who the picture was of but explaining it was a different matter. The picture was of John himself walking down a street in what appeared to be around mid-day surrounded by other people walking beside him. This picture alone was enough to throw even more confusion onto the case especially for Doe.

            "And then there's this." Avery says as she hands Doe a printed out version of the transcript.

            The transcript is the completed text of what Fulton had said to the police officer, after being enhanced it was able to pick up everything he said.

            "The very last thing he says is, 'You have to help me over' then he pauses a bit and says the letters J D" Avery said thinking he meant John Doe.

            "What else do you have on this case so far?" Doe asked with a newfound interest in the case since now it might directly relate to his past.

            Suddenly the thought that he may be the brother that the person was speaking of on the brief call to the police before being killed crossed his mind.

            "Well the guys name is Simon Fulton, like it said in his wallet. Though he does look a lot like Mr. Gulfore who is wanted by the FBI his prints tell a different story. The building manager, who also showed up this morning, says that the apartment belonged to a friend of Fulton's who is currently away on business." Jamie said.

            Frank opened up the folder with the missing persons data, "It says here that his brother was a Jake Fulton, there are no pictures of him though going through stuff in his house it also seems to be devoid of any photos of Jake too. So basically all we have is information in this report. Caucasian Male, Height: about 6', Weight: 175, Hair Color: Brown, Eyes: Blue Etc."

            All of the people in the room were looking at John, hoping he could explain it somehow after seeing the one of the double exposed photos.

            "The oddest part is in his apartment there are at least three different yearbooks from their high school, but the picture where Jake should be has been cut out not the entire picture just his silhouette and it looks like it was done with an razor blade." Frank said with an unchanging tone.

            "Is there any indication to who cut out the photos? It's possible that Simon was the one doing the cutting or is someone else trying to cover up Jake?" Doe asked curiously.

            "Well two were found in Simon's house, but the other two one of which was the same year as one of Simon's were in his mother's possession locked away in a closet." Frank added which complicated things even further.

            "Are there any other clues we can go on?" Doe asked wondering if they brought him in because this was it for the clues and he might be able to find another clue.

            "Actually there are, there was one print on the shell casing but it didn't match anyone in our database, and" Avery said grabbing something out of a bag. "This card." She said as she tossed it onto the table.

            "It was found under the desk where the photo was." Jamie added.

            John didn't speak a word he just sat comprehending the facts before him trying to deduce some logical explanation for it. In the back of John's mind he wondered if he could have been Simon's brother.

            It was a business card for _Jimmie's Mail World,_ a business in the area of where the body was found. It had basic info an address and a phone number. The place basically a place with lots of post office boxes and it accepted deliveries for people even when they are out of town, etc.


	4. Chapter 4

            Doe and Hayes walked into the small business to see a front desk with no one attending it. Along the back wall was a variety of sizes of envelopes and shipping boxes. Hays first action was to lean in and hit the bell. Within seconds a man came out in his early late twenties with a goatee and looked as if they had interrupted his important time.

            "How can I help you?" He said with a snide attitude chewing gum loudly.

            Frank drew out his badge and held it there for a second before tucking it back away. Then he calmly asked, "Do you know this man?" As he spoke he then placed a picture on the counter.

            "He could be a customer. What's his name?" The clerk said trying to be helpful but still chomping on the gum.

            "Simon Fulton." Frank spoke not expecting any help from this lead.

            "Let me check the computer." The clerk hit a few keys and the system beeped he stopped for a moment then hit some more keys.

            "It seems that he did pick up his mail here; based on this receipt last time he picked it up was 6:25 pm yesterday." The clerk said unknowing that this was the last place Mr. Fulton visited before he died.

            Frank and Doe looked at each other realizing that this was the last place he'd been seen alive. Quietly Doe said, "Around five minutes."

            "Five minutes what?" The clerk asked.

            Frank ignored the clerk and as he turned back towards the clerk noticing a surveillance camera, then turned back to glimpse at it before re-looking at the clerk. "I'm gonna need the surveillance video from that camera at about the time Fulton was in here." Frank said.

            "It's private property." The clerk said not wishing to give him anymore help if he wouldn't even answer his question.

            "This is a homicide investigation," Frank said loudly.

            "Oh, well it's a fake anyway," The clerk said without hesitation.

            Doe turned to look at the camera and took a step towards it hanging above the door. After a glance he turned back to the clerk. "Actually it isn't a fake it's an ADC Five hundred series black and white CCD camera."

            The clerk slightly shocked at first. Then responded, "well smart guy that is true but it's busted all it records is static."

            "I'll have to see this myself," Frank said as he looked at the clerk.

            "Fine," The clerk opened the counter and the three proceeded to a back room where there the video equipment was. In the corner a broken display rack fell over making a loud bang. Doe ignored it and walked in first and looked at the equipment and gave it a once over and hit a few buttons on it. The video screen that should have displayed the info showed nothing but static.

            "It seems the probl--," John started to say but then Frank cut him off with, "Ok thanks that'll be all."

            With that Frank started to leave and John followed behind him towards the car they had arrived in. Doe and frank stood in front of their doors to discuss what they had so far.

            "So without the camera that ends on that lead." Doe said wondering if there was some other way to get the footage.

            "Yup." Hayes said sounding a little depressed.

            "Well maybe the picture holds another clue." Frank said as he pulled it out walking around to lay it on the hood. Doe came in to look at it. From first sight there was no way you could tell what the images were. Then the photo was flipped to look at the back. Then it hit John a clue so obvious he wondered how he missed it in the first place.

            "I got it." Doe said.

            "Got what?" Hayes asked.

            "I know where the photo was developed." John said calmly.

            "How?" Frank asked again curious how he knew.

            "The photo paper, it's produced for individual stores so they can put their trade mark on it. Now if you look right here you see a clear TK and a small logo." Doe said pointing out the marks he spoke of.

            "Thomas Kline photography." Frank said recognizing it after thinking a few seconds. "I almost bought a camera there once, but then I found out what the price of it was." Frank added with a chuckle.

            "Well let's go" John said as they both got into the car.

            They pulled up to the small photography place located in town, within a few minutes of starting their ride. Then they both got out and walked through the door as it jingled to alert the person working there of their presence. A clerk came out with a nametag that listed his name as Steve.

            "Hi, how can I help you?" Steve said cheerfully.

            "It's about this picture that was developed here," Frank said pulling out the photo and sliding it on the counter for the clerk to see, then showing him his badge as well.

            "Well, it's rather bad quality, it's double exposed and both images are unrecognizable." Steve said.

            "Have you seen any other pictures like it?" John stepped forward and asked as Hayes was about to speak but then turned to watch John.

            "Now that I think of it," Steve scratched his chin a few seconds, "yes, I have."

            "Can you remember?" Frank asked.

            "Well a gentleman came in and left two disposable cameras, every print came back like this. I offered to give them to him for free but he refused and paid in full." The clerk said trying to remember anything else.

            "I'm sorry but that is all I remember," Steve said.

            "Thanks for you're assistance," John said as was quick to start to walk out the door, and Frank followed him.

            At the car Doe stopped and turned to Frank. "This explains it." John said.

            "Explains what?" Frank said inquisitively.

            "Someone was taking pictures they had developed to send to someone else, the person that killed Fulton. Now they had to get the photos developed at a public facility so to hide the images they made each print double exposed."

            "How does Fulton fit into this?" Frank asked.

            "Well who ever had the pictures developed probably had taken them to the mail room to have them dropped off. Then the clerk accidentally slipped them to Fulton. So that means his involvement in this is entirely bad luck" Doe hesitated to end his theory there.

            "That doesn't explain why he said JD," Frank was quick to point out.

            In John's mind all the facts were there as he tried to fit them all together. If Simon hadn't mentioned JD then this would all make sense, as just a case of bad luck.

            "That still don't tell us who the murderer is but it does help. It also doesn't explain why someone would kill over your picture." Frank said.

            Just then Hayes cell phone rang and he pulled it out and answered it with, "Hayes"

            In his face you could see he was thinking as he nodded to the person on the other end.

            "We may have a witness after all." Hayes said after hanging up the phone.

            "Who?" John asked curiously.

            "The building manager says a tenant came to him saying she did see someone." Frank said.

            Frank knocked on apartment 5 B that was on the second floor and waited a few seconds before knocking again to be interrupted from a voice inside.

            "Who's there?" The voice asked.

            "Police Mrs. Preste," Frank said waiting for the door to open.

            A few seconds later the door swung open and it was an old lady with gray curly hair.

            "I'm glad you came over so quickly" she said.

            "I've been informed that you have some information about Mr. Fulton?" Frank said as he wondered what she had seen.

            "Well I was taking my garbage out and was in the back exit, that's when I saw them; I thought they were trash collectors." She admitted.

            "What did they look like?" John asked curiously since they had one picture of him hidden in the double exposure.

            "All of them were men, one of them had grey hair with a fancy hat and coat on, and the other two had green overalls that looked messy, but I only saw them from the back as they went away. It did look like one of the messy men had a gun in hand." She said. "Oh and one of them made hand motions to the tall grey haired man."

            John started thinking to the man that they had seen in the painting, the lead that lead him to the old woman and the lies about his identity, and the deaf person that police picked up after Karen was kidnapped, now John knew that's who had to be behind this.

            Frank's cell phone started ringing again half way through her talking and he answered it and quietly talked to the person on the other end as John continued to talk with Mrs. Preste.       

            "Sign language?" John said making sure that is what she had meant.

            "Oh yes that's what it was. I wouldn't have called but after hearing what happened to poor Simon I figured I'd better mention it." Mrs. Preste said.

            "John we have to go, something urgent." Frank said motioning towards the door.

            "Thank you Mrs. Preste." They both said as they walked out the door.

            Initially they were both quiet walking down the one flight of stairs and out the door back into the sunlight. John got into the passenger side of Frank's car and buckled up. As Frank sat down in the driver's side starting the engine and began to drive to where he was told on the phone.

            "Where are we headed?" John asked.

            "Back to the mail shop." Frank said quickly as he made a turn. "What did Mrs. Preste say?" Frank asked after the turn.

            "Three people, at least one of whom is deaf." John said wondering if Frank would remember the other incident after they brought in the deaf man for questioning.

            They arrived on the scene after a few minutes to see a neighboring store had yellow police tape on it.

            Just then the clerk from _Jimmie's Mail World_, ran out of the store looking like someone was behind him with a knife.

            "I heard gunshots; someone is trying to kill me just like they did Simon. It's the photos." The clerk exclaimed.

            "Wait, what photos?" Frank asked.

            "Um uh." The clerk hesitated for a while.

            "It wasn't an accident at all; you deliberately gave him someone else's photographs," John said starting to think that Simon didn't get mixed into this on bad luck, he wanted those photos.

            "Well yes, he paid me five hundred bucks." The clerk said trying to explain.

            "What photos did you sell him?" Frank asked.

            "The guy bought photos and mail from others before, he said he was looking for his brother. This week he said he needed to buy the mail off someone who received pictures that day with a box that ended in zero, three and that was three people." The clerk explained.

            "So you gave him mail from all three boxes?" Frank asked.

            "No, one person had already picked up their mail for the day I gave him the other two. Then like two minutes later two guys come in and hand me a note to tell me they want to pick up the mail, but I had just sold it to the other guy." The clerk said.

            Frank and John listen to his story and try to fit the new pieces into the existing puzzle they had.

            "They left and a third guy comes in and he has one of those devices to type into, I told him I lost the mail but he didn't believe me. I eventually pointed out who I sold it too as he was leaving a store across the street. Then he gets mad and totals a display I have up then walks out." The clerk said as his voice was shaky and he was afraid he would be killed next.

            "What were they wearing?" Doe asked intrigued.

            "Normal clothes," The clerk said.

            "What was the other man wearing?" Doe asked?

            "A trench coat? I don't remember he had a hat and didn't look up much, I saw he had semi long grey hair." The clerk said unsure.

            The officer from the other scene came over and greeted Hayes walked over to him and they talked a few feet away. Then Frank walked back over to the clerk who was standing next to Doe in silence.

            "Someone tried to rob the place next door, two shots fired just as he was trying to leave to scare people away. But he ran into someone and fell down and an officer caught him." Hayes said clearing up that no one was after the clerk.

            "Who owned the box he bought photos from?" John asked.

            "I'd have to check inside," The clerk said heading towards his store.

            He made his way to the computer and punched in information into the keyboard, he continued to type. Then the system responded with a beep.

            "What?" The clerk said confused as all the data on the screen got messed up and the screen started displaying error messages.

            John leapt up and started typing on the keyboard, but it was too late after typing a few seconds the computer displayed a series of odd messages, in a screen with a distorted image it had the words 'Open it' then if flashed to white and flashed 'Message' then 'inside 2065-55' almost to simultaneously to read before resting into a black screen.

            "No!" John said angry hitting the counter he couldn't get to it in time. He sat back and took a breath.

            "Did you see what name it said?" Doe asked the clerk hoping he may have seen something.

            "It looked like it said that the box was registered to Samuel Buck or Bick," The clerk said not totally certain.

            "Samuel Buck, British artist died 1779," Doe thought about it but didn't see any other connections or how this information could help.

            John thought for a few seconds then studied the computer wondering how the person got in to the computer in the first place. He felt behind the computer and noticed something, a small device that had the phone line plugged into it and then it went into the phone in line for the modem. He pulled the device to the front and looked at it. It was about the two inches tall, independently manufactured. In a solid grey metallic looking case.

            "This device probably bounces sites you visit and information about this computer to someone else on the internet. They've had plenty of time to upload a virus since yesterday, and after we started looking it was activated. To find out for certain I'd have to take it apart."

            Then suddenly on the side of the case John noticed the numbers '2065-55' suddenly he thought about the last message on the computer screen maybe it wasn't just part of the virus.

            John further examined the tube then noticed one little crevice and what looked like a line around it.

            "Get me a pocket knife" John said as he wondered what could be inside the tube.

            Frank handed him one out of his pocket and John opened up the blade and slid the tip of the blade into the small crevice and pushed upward until there was a click there was now an obvious separation where the tube could be opened turning the knife and used it to push the cap. But it was still hard to push then with one push it flew off. A small red flame flared out of the end for a second then vanished into the tube leaving a trail of smoke. John looked inside the tube to see it had scorched any working parts that remained.

            "Guess I won't get to analyze the chips" Doe said.

            "What was that red flame?" The clerk said shocked after seeing the fire.

            John sniffed the air and thought about the flames color, "Strontium." He said in a sort of low voice continuing to think.

            "Strontium?" Frank asked knowing Doe was about to do his thing.

            "It could be a few different things but my bet is it's Strontium, symbol Sr, atomic number 38, first discovered by William Cruikshank, although Adair Crawford is often credited with the discovery, in the mineral strontianite. Common uses are in road flares, red color in fireworks, in its natural state it is highly reactive to air." Doe spoke as the thoughts crossed his mind.

            He turned his attention to the other end of the device that looked like it could be removed by unscrewing it. So he turned it a few times and the end popped right off. He poured the few contents onto the counter and looked at them.

            It was a mix of grains that poured onto the counter into a small pile, and some flowed off the edge and onto the floor. John stared at them then took a smell, and was feeling some of the grains.

            "Red Pine," He said aloud thinking about what it could mean.

            After finally making the clerk realize no one was after him. John and Frank headed out the door and made their way back to the car. Frank started it up.

            "I should have charged him with mail tampering," Frank said jokingly.

            John looked up at the stop light for a second thinking about the clues suddenly it hit him what they had meant.

            "Pine Street and Crawford Place, they're road names." John said knowing that had to be the connection.


	5. Chapter 5

Once on location at the intersection of Pine and Crawford John got out of the car and realized there were four houses there. Frank pulled along the one corner next to the red house and parked.

            "It's has to be one of these houses," John said unsure of which one.

            "Red, tan, white, and light blue, two look like houses and two look like businesses." Frank announced aloud.

            "So Doe you got a favorite color?" Frank asked wondering if John would pick a random house or pick one based on the clues.

            "No, there has to be some way to logically determine a clue," Doe thought for a min. "Wait Samuel Buck, if it said Byck, that means," Doe started to move back across the street towards a house.

            "Doe he said Bick or Buck, not Bike." Frank stated thinking Doe was confused.

            "No B-Y-C-K is pronounced bike," Doe said moving closer towards the white house that was on the corner.

            "In 1974 Byck a disgruntled failed business man blamed all his troubles on then president Nixon, and created a plot to fly a jet into the white house, but he failed, and was killed. Although most of his plans he recorded on tapes." Doe said with an eerie tone.

            "That's scary to think about considering now." Frank said uneasily.

            They stopped on the door step of the white house and took a moment to think and take breathe for a second and examined the porch area. It had a small swing and plastic flowers in pots on the ground.

            John reached up and with the brass handle firmly in his grip knocked on the door three times. No response then he decided to knock three more times. A faint voice inside said, "Just a minute."

            A few seconds later the door latches clicked and the door was swung open. Opening the door was a middle aged old woman, smoking a cigarette. Inside the home it was dark and the television could be heard in the distance. She coughed twice then spoke.

            "What do you want?" She said as if they had interrupted something important.

            "Are you expecting us?" John asked thinking that someone involved with Phoenix would be inside.

            "What in the hell kind of question is that?" She said grouchily and turned to look at Frank wondering what he was doing.

            "Sorry ma'am we must have the wrong house," Frank said wondering what was supposed to happen.

            She glanced at both of them then slammed the door closed loudly clicking the locks into place. John and Frank both looked at each other confused then didn't know what to say.

            "Wait a minute," John said as he reached into his pocket pulling out the thing that was attached to the back of the computer.

            He held the capsule device up and through his line of vision lined it up next to the address number of her house.

            "It's a telephone number." John said as it began to make sense to him.

            "Hand me your cell phone," John asked Frank as he reached into his pockets to place it into John's hand.

            Doe opened the cover and dialed in the entire number into the keypad of the phone and hit send. Then he placed the phone to his ear to listen. 

            A mechanical voice spoke on the other end "Good Job John Doe you will be rewarded, you should take a break after solving this clue perhaps you should take a walk."

            Then it shut off with a click and the phone on the other end hung up. John stood there with a puzzled look on his face.

            "It said I will be rewarded and to take a walk" Doe said paraphrasing the message knowing that's what Hayes was going to ask next.

            "Well all this and all we get is a short message like that? Does it mean anything else?" Frank asked.

            "I don't know. There might be another clue." John said thinking about the message.

            John thought for a second and on a news stand a few feet away he caught a glimpse of a disposable camera. John ran down the steps from the woman's porch and almost crashed into the side of the vending cart as he looked at the camera.

            "Of course, Frank we have to go to the police station" John said turning to Frank.

            Back in the police station John asked Frank to get the evidence from his case he told him about earlier.

            "What evidence?" Frank asked confused by what John had been putting together in his mind.

            "What ever it was you pulled out of the water." John said sure that this had to be the missing link.

            Frank brought out three baggies which contained pieces of plastic that were in various sizes. John studied each of them he quickly noticed that two of the pieces of plastic had writing on them.

            "These had fingerprints of the family of his friend on it right?" John asked.

            "Yeah, how does this tie into this case," Frank asked.

            "Well these pieces are from a disposable camera, and written in Arabic is a note saying it only takes twelve photos." John announced.

            John then sat at a computer and started typing into the computer bringing up the internet. He typed into a few different search engines until he found a page. He clicked one link and a photo of an undamaged disposable camera appeared on screen. He clicked the print button and started to print it. He grabbed the printed page and moved towards the exit.

            "C'mon we have to get to the photo developers shop." John said as he was exiting out the door.

            They re-entered the photography shop with the bell at the top of the door jingling as they came in.

            "Welcome back," Steve, who was still on duty from earlier, said as they came in.

            "Thanks," John said as he moved back towards the counter.

            John pulled the paper out of his pocket and unfolded it. As he asked, "The person that dropped off the film did their disposable camera look like this?"

            Steve thought about it for a little while picking up the paper itself and examining it closely.

            "As a matter of fact I think it did, I remember the foreign language that was on the sides." He said gaining more confidence in his memories as he went on.

            "Do you still have the camera itself?" Doe asked hoping he might.

            "No I would have thrown that out shortly after I removed the film." Steve answered.

            "Thanks for your help," Frank said as Doe and Hayes stopped by the door to discuss what they had learned.

            "This makes sense who ever took the photos is a private investigator, just like the one that got killed by his partner. Apparently the partner didn't want him taking the pictures in the first place so he stopped him the only way he could and destroyed the camera." Doe informing Frank how he thought things fit together.

            "One thing I didn't mention was that I was in that building that is about a hundred yards off from where that one guy was killed, not too long ago. So the fact they were both using similar rare cameras for this area, he must have been taking photos of me too. The other guy that successfully took the photos then would have to be developed and sends them off. Which is where Fulton accidentally bought them trying to figure out who is brother was." John finished taking a breath.

            "What about what Fulton said before he was killed?" Frank brought up again.

            "Before there wasn't enough proof to say otherwise, but with more than one P.I. taking photos it proves it was just coincidental, so he must have meant something else." John thought about what he could have meant but was coming up with blanks.

            "Like another John Doe?" Frank said kidding.

            Frank's cell phone rang and he reached in his pocket to answer it. Hayes spoke on the phone for a few seconds and then looked up and Doe and nodded. He then hung up the phone and put it back into his pocket.

            "Looks like we get to take a walk after all," Frank said after what he was told on the cell phone.

            "What?" Doe said confused.

            "There was gunfire in the park." He said adding a little light to the previous statement he had just made.

            "The park?" John asked as the look on his face indicated that he knew he should have figured out that the clue from the mechanical voice over the phone he got meant to go to the park.

            "When checking out the gunfire an officer found a business card for _Jimmie's Mail World_, so after hearing about the card we had they called." Frank explained knowing whatever was at the park couldn't be good.


	6. Chapter 6

            Within minutes they were walking in the park it was a semi cloudy day. The police were already in the park. Focusing on an area where there was a gun in the middle of the path.

            "I'm just going to guess that that gun matches the gun that shot Simon," Frank said.

            "Over here," an officer shouted. He held up a single casing he found in some bushes under a big tree.

            "I'll bet it has a print that matches the one we already have." Frank said in the same tone as his first guess.

            "And I'll bet the prints match that guy," Doe said as he looked up and pointed into the tree above where the officer found the shell.

            In the tree were the remains of one mysterious individual who had on green overalls that indicated he was a city worker.

            "How in the?" Frank said confused wondering how or why a guy would climb up a tree and then shoot himself.

            After taking many photos of the scene itself they carefully pulled the body down with the assistance of a fire truck and its long ladder. Now the body rested on the ground to be taken to the Medical Examiners Office where a full report could be drawn up.

            "Some reward," Frank said upset that this would end their case against the group that really had pulled off the crimes.

            "Well now we have the murderer but no more clues other than we know they wanted to take photos of me, and wanted to cover them up carefully." John added.

            "Well what do we have now?" Frank asked wondering if Doe could pull another clue out of this situation.

            "So it makes sense, they send out disposable cameras, and equipment to modify the cameras to take double exposed photographs to private investigators. People take the pictures and get the cameras developed. With the images hidden the clerks developing the photos won't be able to see and it leaves only the investigators themselves with all the facts." Doe said taking a moment to think and take a breath.

            "Then from there the photos are put in the box for them to pick up. The perfect setup, but Fulton ruined it when he bought the photos looking for his brother after a lead he got. And they had to dress up in the garbage man uniforms to go undetected in the building, and never had a chance to take it off. After we got close to them they by solving the clues, they knew they had to give up the shooter, who conveniently committed suicide." 

            "So, the case is wrapped up but that doesn't explain what Fulton said in his call." Frank said still confused on that fact.

            "Actually it does." John stated as his mind now focused on the facts.

            "This furthers my theory that what he said was a coincidence, and now I think I can explain it." John said as he was moving out of the park towards Frank's car.

            "How does that explain it" Frank asked as he was running behind John to get to his car.

            John swung the door open just in time to catch a police dispatcher saying ten four.

            "That's what it means." Doe said aloud as Frank behind him was trying to catch his breathe after the sprint.

            "Ten-four?" Frank said clueless at this moment.

            "We have to get to Fulton's car." Doe said.

            Frank and John arrived on the scene a after about twenty minutes later by car after making a quick detour to the police station. John quickly got out of the car and approached Fulton's car that was still parked in front of the building with a few other clues still remaining in the apartment itself.

            "Ok I missed this the first time because the photo seemed to tie me directly to the case so it was logical to assume that in JD he did mean to refer to me." Doe said explaining his logic.

            "But as the case went on it started to appear that how he obtained the photos was coincidence. Which had to mean that what he said was a clue to his brother's location somehow, or it would lead to information about his brother," John added.

            John walked over to Simon Fulton's car and opened the door to look inside. Inside was the one item that confirmed his new theory. Nothing out of the ordinary was in the car itself; in fact police had already scanned the inside for clues.

            "Police already looked in there but didn't find anything." Frank said.

            "But they didn't know where to look for this clue." Doe replied to Frank.

            John stood up straight and explained.

            "It occurred to me that in Simon's message he says, 'You have to help me over' now in this he didn't mean over as a place. I realized that he meant it as radio/CB slang. That alone wouldn't be enough so he encoded another slang using the letters J D." Doe explained this to Frank.

            "What does J D have to do with radio slang?" Frank asked still not getting it.

            "J is the tenth letter of the alphabet, and D is the fourth letter of the alphabet." Doe stated.

            Suddenly a light went off in Frank's mind as he quietly said, "ten-four."

            "I'll be--," Frank started to say thinking about the logic behind it.

            "In radio talk ten four is part of a series of codes, ten four itself means ok transmission received." Doe said as he went into the car.

            John started fooling with the CB radio that rested below his regular stereo in the car. He pushed on one piece until it popped apart. Three papers inside the device fell to the floor. John reached and picked them up, and pulled them out of the car.

            "Fulton didn't know what he had to make the people chase him, he only noticed them chasing, so he secured the papers in a safe place and gave us the clue." John said as he unfolded the papers and laid them down on the hood of the car to read.

            Two of the papers were photographs; on the back both said Jake Fulton. One of them was of a little boy playing. The second was a much older man about a few years younger than Simon, but bearing a striking resemblance to him.

            The third paper was a note and an address; it listed his name as Paul Timmers. The address was in Seattle and on the reverse side it listed a box at _Jimmie's Mail World, _with the main numbers smudged and only a zero three visible at the end.

            "He must have gotten this from the other box he bought from, jotted the number down then slid it in here with the photos for safe keeping. Then who ever took the other mail took his too." John added.

            "Shame that he never got to confirm if this was his brother or not." Frank said in a slightly depressed tone.

            "Yeah so close to finding a long lost relative then not being able to follow through," John said relating to him thinking after he thought he had found is family, and who he was then realizing that it was all smoke and mirrors.

            Frank knocked on the address on the paper since he had to inform the next of kin, and spoke to Paul personally and Paul embraced him not knowing how to react that he found a long lost relative and lost them in the same day.

            Doe was now back at _The Sea, _playing a melancholy song on the piano washing away the sad thoughts the case stirred up with a cold beer. Frank walked in to join him in the same depressing mood after informing Paul of his loss.

            At his first chance Digger came over to see his friend and check on him.

            "No more pictures?" Digger asked.

            "I don't think I'll take anymore photos for a while." John said quietly as he continued with his song.

            "Ok" Digger said as he just let John sort out his feelings by playing the song.

            After the song was over someone in guy his twenties walked over to ask John a question.

            "Want to hear a riddle?" The man asked, remembering the good times earlier when he was answering questions seeing if anyone could stump him.

            "Yeah what the heck, I should move on," John said looking away from the piano.

            The kid started "There was an old man--."

            The sounds all faded together in the bar to create an overall cheerfulness in the environment. In the end John was smiling after solving the riddle.


End file.
